The Boron Letters: Chapter 10

Double digits, baby. Gary Halbert’s Boron letters, chapter 10.

Quick recap: he’s one of the most successful copywriters in history. He went to prison for mail fraud. While in prison, he wrote 26 letters to his son, teaching him everything he knew.

Last week, chapter 9 answered a question.

What do you do when you find the perfect list of customers?

According to Gary, it’s simple. Customize the pitch.

Chiropractors, for example. He commissions a report on how chiropractors can make extra money.

Then, the letter looks like this:

He explains how much money this would make him. And even if it doesn’t make a ton of money, the strategy is sound and will eventually produce a winner!

If Bond isn’t convinced, he re-words the letter.

It’s the difference of “How to buy real estate with no money down” vs “How to buy L.A. real estate with no money down.”

But that was last week - this week, we're on chapter 10.

Before we get to the summary and the takeaways, as always, take out a pen and paper and write the letter out by hand.

TL;DR of the letter

The key is movement.

Gary had no idea how he was going to start his last letter. Or this one. He got going, and ideas came out. Instead of waiting for inspiration, he picked a direction and started moving. 

(I'll let you in on a little secret. That s**t works.)

Now, he’s itching for Bond to start writing ads. 

First, some reading material:

• Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins

• The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier. 

• 2001 Headlines by Gary Halbert

• SuperBiz by Ben Juarez

Look at the detailed ask:

Taking notes while reading is crucial, but don’t only read to take notes.

Oh, and keep a swipe file. Gary mentions how important it is here.

Now, the process is simple.

1. Look at all the mailing lists from the catalogue

2. For whatever subject you pick (e.g. real estate) pick 3 or 4 hot books on how to make money in that area.

3. Relentlessly find ads and direct marketing pieces about real estate investing. Read them and take notes.

4. Re-read the books he mentioned.

5. Narrow further. Target a profession in a market who wants to buy real estate. Not just "plumbers". Plumbers in San Jose.

6. Go back to the books from step 2 and condense the best ideas into the report you’re going to sell.

The amazing L.A. roadmap to real estate riches, he calls it.

Let’s see what we learned.

Takeaways from Gary Halbert’s tenth Boron letter

By God, customize your message to fit your audience

This is the third or fourth consecutive letter where Gary talks about this.

You’re going nowhere if you have no niche when you write. That niche could be anything, but it can’t be everything.

Gary creates an incredible format that works well for any niche.

When the rubber hits the road, though, he’s only talking to "chiropractors in LA who want to invest in real estate."

A customized message means an excited potential customer. 

Give your readers concrete value. Don’t overpromise.

He started writing this letter with no direction.

He ended with a step-by-step guide to creating a successful direct marketing ad.

Don’t be vague; don’t overpromise. Deliver concrete value.

Study what works and learn from it

You need to be keeping a file of ads you like. It’ll help you come up with more ideas.

Don’t worry, I have a start here. Feel free to steal it.

Until next week.